Major General Horatio Gates, Part 1 - "In The Second Post Upon This Continent"
Major General Horatio Gates could have been one of the best known and most respected American generals of the Revolutionary War. In 1777 he he commanded an army that forced British Lieutenant General John Burgoyne to surrender at Saratoga, New York, a victory that was a turning point in the American War of Independence. What he did after Burgoyne's defeat and with his next major command damaged his reputation beyond repair.
Francis B. Heitman's list of Continental Army officers simply notes that Gates "Had been Major in British Army. Brigadier-General and Adjutant-General Continental Army, 17th June, 1775; Major-General Continental Army, 16th May, 1776", and then after remarking that Congress awarded him a gold medal for his victory over Burgoyne at Saratoga, he "Served to close of war" and died April 10, 1806. [2]
Gates began his Revolutionary War service as a brigadier general and the adjutant general of the newly formed Continental Army. On June 22, 1775, Gates wrote to General George Washington from Travelers Rest, his home in what is now Kearneysville, West Virginia: "Last night I was Honourd by the receipt of your Obliging Letter of 17th Instant, I shall Obey your Commands with all possible Expedition, & hope to be in philadelphia Thursday next, & wish earnestly to find you there. ... My Gratefull Thanks are most Respectfully due to the Congress, for the very Handsome manner in which they conferred their Commission. ... I will not lose a moment in paying you my personal attendance, with the greatest respect for your Charactor, & the sincerest attachment to your person, I am Dear General Your most Faithfull, & Obedient Humble Servant, Horatio Gates" [3]
Two weeks later Gates was in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On July 9, 1775, the army was informed: "The Continental Congress having been pleased to appoint Horatio Gates, Esq., brigadier-general and adjutant-general of the army, he is to be obeyed as such; and all orders transmitted through him from the Commander-in-chief, whether written or verbal, are to be punctually and immediately obeyed." The company muster roll pictured above, for Captain Samuel Leighton's company of Colonel James Scammon's regiment "belonging to the Army of the United Colonies of North America", dated August 13, 1775, illustrates one of the duties of the adjutant general. Gates quickly got down to business, providing regiments with printed returns on July 13 to report their strength as army was being formed into brigades, directing surgeons to report how many men were sick in their regiment on July 28, and issuing orders to the guard escorting prisoners to Worcester, Massachusetts, the next day. [4]
In 1776 Gates was promoted to the rank of major general, and left his position as adjutant general to become a commander. On June 24, 1776, Washington notified Gates that he was to proceed to Canada by way of Albany, New York, as: "The Honorable Continental Congress reposing the greatest Confidence in your Wisdom & Experience have directed me to appoint you to the very important Command of the Troops of the United Colonies in Canada... Upon your Arrival at Albany you will consult with General Schuyler ...". [5]
Unfortunately for Gates, the army that he was to command was no longer in Canada. On July 16, 1776, he wrote to John Hancock from Ticonderoga: “Upon my Arrival at Albany the 27th Ulto General Schuyler assumed the Command of The Army in this Department, alledging that the Resolves of Congress, and General Washington’s Instructions to me, were Confined to Canada. As this was not to be denied, I Submitted; and went with General Schuyler, and General Arnold, to Crown-point..." What they found shocked them, "... the wretched remains of what was once a very respectable Body of Troops. That pestilential disease, the Small pox, had taken so deep a root, that the Camp had more the Appearance of a General Hospital, than an Army form’d to Oppose the Invasion of a Successful & enterprizing Enemy." In response, "A Council of General Officers was immediately held, wherein it was determined Unanimously to retire, & take post on the Strong Ground opposite to the East point of Ticonderoga...". [6] It was a choice that others, including Washington, would question.
The decision to abandon Crown Point proved to be correct. Gates took command at Fort Ticonderoga, and his men strengthened and expanded its works, fortified Mount Independence on the opposite shore in Vermont, and constructed a fleet to defend Lake Champlain. The cumulative result of their efforts delayed the British until it was too late in the year for them to drive the Americans from the region.
In early December, after the British had withdrawn to Canada, Gates left New York and went south to New Jersey with seven regiments to join Washington's army. Three weeks later and frustrated with how that campaign was being handled, he notified Washington that he wished to go to Philadelphia as he was poor health but then went to Baltimore, where Congress had relocated, before spending the winter in Philadelphia. [7]
Over the course of the winter Gates assisted Washington with the administration of the army. On March 7, 1777, he wrote to Washington that much to his surprise Congress had asked him to return to the position of adjutant general. Gates confessed that he would prefer to retain his command, and that: "Unless it is your Earnest desire such a Measure should directly take place, I would by no means consent to it. ... & having Commanded all the last Campaign in the Second post upon this Continent, it is not likely I should now Sollicit the Office of Adjutant General...". He went on to say thought that if Washington's wanted it, "... I shall with Cheerfullness, & Alacrity, proceed to Head Quarters. with Great Respect, & Esteem". [8]
In April of 1777 Gates returned to New York with the expectation that he would command the Northern army when it faced a second British invasion from Canada. Once again his path to command would be far from smooth.
1777 March Blog Home Overnight Stopping Points Towns and Villages Along the Way
General Whipple's Journal Burgoyne in Albany Annotated Bibliography
[2] Heitman, Historical Register of Officer of the Continental Army, 244. Omitted from both Heitman's entry and this post is any discussion of the "Conway Cabal", a plot to replace Washington with Gates as the commander of the Continental Army after Washington's defeat at Brandywine in Pennsylvania on September 11, 1777, and Gates victory at Saratoga in October of 1777; or Gates defeat at Camden, South Carolina in 1780. For more on this see "Hero to Zero? Remembering Horatio Gates" by Mike Matheny in the Journal of the American Revolution at: https://allthingsliberty.com/2023/04/hero-to-zero-remembering-horatio-gates/.
[3] Horatio Gates to George Washington, June 22, 1775, Travelers Rest, [West] Virginia: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-01-02-0011.
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